Youth seize the day during Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests

Regardless of the outcome from the mass protests in the streets of Causeway Bay, Admiralty and Mong Kok, Hong Kong should be proud to see the fruits of successful civic education.

It's two weeks since university students began class boycotts, joined later by secondary school students who, wearing uniforms, showed up in their thousands at rallies outside government headquarters calling for a free and fair election system in the city.

Many more returned to the scene, angered by the arrest of student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung the night before for breaking into a cordoned-off zone outside the headquarters.

The dramatic events of the following week will go down in history as a remarkable, defining period.

Conscientious, undeterred young people were the backbone of the spontaneous movement. Radical and naive, some may say. Naive, of course, just as many in their 30s or 40s are. But their devotion to the fight for democracy has touched the hearts of many.

It is not the charisma of the 17-year-old Wong, who was subsequently released, that motivated people of various ages to take to the streets. The boldness and sharp wit of the first-year Open University student must have inspired many, but he alone could not have driven the mass movement.

Rather our young generation is clearly inculcated with the modern values of justice, liberty, equality and peace. Impressively, they also displayed strong civic-mindedness, with their good order and discipline and by keeping the protest zones clean. Some sorted recyclable rubbish. Rather than growing impatient in the sweltering heat, they stood shoulder to shoulder with others with the same resolve. A festive atmosphere prevailed, rain or shine.